What Should be IIT K’s Research Vision? A Difficult Question with Simple Answer or Vice Versa

1. What Should be IIT K’s Research Vision? • A Difficult Question with Simple Answer or Vice Versa • Amitabha Ghosh • INSA Senior Scientist and Distinguished Professor • Aerospace and Applied Mechanics Department • Bengal Engineering & Science University Shibpur • P.O. Botanic Garden, Howrah 711103

2. Simplifying the question – “ What Should be IITK’s Research Vision?” It needs a little expansion to clear the objective behind the question as follows: “What Should be IITK’s Research Vision so that the Institute Continues to Remain as the Most Attractive and Reputed Destination for Bright Students and Faculty in India and It Becomes a Leading Academic Institution in the World?”

3. Let us analyze the past 50 years’ history of IIT Kanpur. We all know that among the IITs IITK has been the place with best academic reputation. But what feature (s) made this possible? The academic freedom ?The structural flexibility? Carrier growth opportunities?Decentralized informal administration?

4. Perhaps all these played some part in helping the brightest students and faculty members making a bee line to IITK in spite of so many locational disadvantages. All the above mentioned points are important no doubt, but those are reviled only when one joins this place! Not before. But I feel that the primary reason why IITK became the best was something else as presented next.

5. It is now accepted that during the period from 1960s to 2000 the world experienced a very major event, known as the ‘Second Industrial Revolution’ that has transformed our society in many ways. The principal players in this were ‘Micro- electronics’ and ‘Computer Engineering’. IIT Kanpur is the institution that played the centre stage role in these two areas within India.

6. Of course, it does not mean that only the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science were involved. Computer application and microelectronics were relevant (and important) for modern R & D in almost all areas of science and technology. New areas like CFD, Robotics/Mechatronics, CAD-CAM all had a major boost from the pioneering research work at IIT Kanpur

7. I believe that IIT Kanpur was so attractive a place to all primarily because the Institute started academics in Microelectronics and Computer Science in India in a big way and IIT Kanpur played the centre stage role in bringing the 2nd Industrial Revolution to India.

8. Second Industrial Revolution First Industrial Revolution

9. Is it possible to ensure a repeat performance?

10. According to most scientists and engineers a major phenomenon, termed as the ‘Third Industrial Revolution’, is knocking at our door. Can IIT Kanpur again take necessary steps so that it again plays a centre stage role in bringing this revolution to India? Let us examine the matter and that can yield the answer we are looking for.

11. As computer science was the foundation on which the ‘Second Industrial Revolution’ depended upon what will be the fundamental principle for the ‘Third Industrial Revolution’? If IIT Kanpur can take a preemptive move to orient its activities that will be closely related to the impending revolution we can hope to maintain our track record for being the best.

12. There are enough indications that the slowly emerging trend of close interaction among the various branches of physical, engineering and life sciences will ultimately lay down the foundation for the ‘Third Industrial Revolution’. The Third IR will be based upon the principles of Artificial Intelligence and Bio-inspired Synthetic Biology based Advanced Engineering .

13. In the Second Industrial Revolution the primary engineering activity was 2 ½ D miniaturization. In the Third Industrial Revolution the primary engineering activity will be 3D miniaturization

14. Material manipulation for the engineering involved in the Third Industrial Revolution can be represented in the next two slides

15. Degree of Automation & Intelligence Level Autonomous Humanoid Robots Intelligent Microrobots/ Manipulating Blood Cells Mars Land Rover CNC Machining Centre Micro Machine Tool Molecular Motor 1/Size

17. As a consequence, ‘Fabrionics’, i.e. shape, pattern and characteristic generation by material manipulation at the micro, nano and molecular levels, will be the key element for 3D miniaturization in an economic way.

18. Thus we realize that in Second Industrial Revolution the manipulation was mainly for 2 1/2D miniaturization. But the Third Industrial Revolution will revolve around 3 D miniaturization. The key requirement will be manufacturing economically miniaturized 3 D machines and devices.

19. Biomimetic self assembly can be, perhaps, the only way to achieve practicable 3 D miniaturization.

20. Components that interact irreversibly give rise to disordered products Components that can adjust positions once in contact can form ordered objects if the ordered form is the lowest energy configuration

21. Self Assembly – Molecular Level

22. HPB Pattern Generation by Self Assembly

23. HPB Pattern Generation by Self Assembly

24. It is a well known fact that faculty members • will feel encouraged if the advanced courses • they teach are also helpful for the kind of • activities mentioned above. For example such • courses could be on • Molecular engineering and scaling laws • Fabrionics and self assembly based manufacturing • Bio inspired engineering and synthetic biology • based systems and devices • Intelligent macromolecules and smart materials • New energy sources like ATP type biochemical • energy • Self learning and self correction • Self replication

25. One of the very important matter that has to be addressed for the academics to create the foundations of the 3rd IR is merger of the science, engineering and life science areas. In this aspect IIT Kanpur is way ahead of other institutes of higher learning in India. From the very inception the Institute’s academic activities have not recognized the usually found boundaries between science and engineering. This makes IITK as the most suited place for initiating the next Industrial Revolution.

26. Following the nature of evolution through which the traditional engineering curricula have developed a dependable guess may be possible. Very little difference will exist between the science and engineering in the future except some aspects of their basic goals.

27. SCIENCE ENGINEERING ? The basic feature is ‘analysis’ using the capability to observe and understand The basic feature is characterized by ‘synthesis’ using the capability to manipulate

28. Mechanics Thermodynamics Civil Engineering Military / Mechanical Engineering Electricity & Magnetism Modern Physics Quantum Mechanics Materials Technology Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering Math Chemistry Electronics Life Science Electrical Engineering Chemical Engineering Aerospace Engineering Mechanical Engineering Computer Engineering Biotechnology

29. Extending the presently observed trends the evolved science and engineering curricula in the near future can be guessed as shown next.

30. Traditional Engineering Subjects Physics Mathematics and Computation for Extensive Simulation & Modeling Life Science Chemistry Science and Engineering Curricula of the New Era

31. The major activities in scientific and engineering disciplines can be diagrammatically represented as in the next slide.

32. Futuristic Systems and Devices Miniaturization Massive parallelism SMARTMATERIALS Embedded Biochemical Energy Source And Control Electronics Bottom up Fabrication And Self Assembly Based Mass Manufacturimg

33. When will this manipulative capability be achieved?? It is a million dollar question; but it is expected that once the bottom up techniques reach a matured state, 3 D miniaturization in an economic manner will be possible

34. The important foundational areas can be schematically represented as shown in the next slide

35. Life Science Math & Comp Sc Electro magnetism Material Science Physics Chemistry Thermo dynamics Mechanics Scaling Laws Synthesis, Simulation & Modeling, Design Fabrionics

36. IIT Kanpur needs to innovate an appropriate academic system that will regroup the faculty and students so as to produce maximum impact in the areas of science and technology mentioned above. This will ensure that the Institute remains as the best destination for research and studies in the country. Furthermore if the Institute can make some early breakthroughs it can become one of the best in the world.

37. Thank You